Aspects of the disclosure relate to displaying the position of a mobile device on a map.
In some locations, a position of a mobile device may not be determinable or a position may be determinable with low accuracy. For example, a lack of access point coverage in a part of a wireless local area network positioning environment may lead to a situation in which a server has insufficient data to determine a mobile device position with a high degree of accuracy. Similarly, when a mobile device is receiving insufficient data from global positioning system (GPS) satellites, the mobile device may be unable to determine its position.
When a position of a device has been temporarily undeterminable and the device subsequently regains the ability to determine its position, a displayed point indicator, used to indicate a position of the mobile device, may jump from a previously indicated position to a current position. The position of a point indicator may vary rapidly over time when a position of a mobile device can be determined with low accuracy. Point indicators that jump from one location to another or have positions that vary rapidly over time may be potentially confusing or distracting to a user.
A point indicator and/or precise coordinate indication of a mobile device location may indicate the position of a user's mobile device with a greater extent of accuracy than desired by the user. The user's privacy and/or safety may be compromised when a precise indication of the user's position is made available to other users, service providers, etc.